Team USA will take a 2-1 lead into the third period of its rivalry matchup against Team Canada. Dylan Larkin converted on an odd-man rush for the only goal of the second period, and the Americans are 20 minutes away from punching their ticket to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship.
For much of the second period, the U.S. and Canada seemed to have settled into a tight-checking game after the drama of the first period. That was, until an ill-timed line change by the Canadians and a great defensive play by Matt Boldy sprung Larkin on a 2-on-1.
Larkin elected to shoot, and it was the right choice. His perfectly placed shot beat Jordan Binnington just under the blocker to give the Americans their first lead of the game.
That goal came right after a nice push from the Canadian line featuring Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Mark Stone. Those three created a few Grade-A chances but couldn’t bury one, and America had the lead just moments later.
Canada will need to keep pushing in the third period because Team USA has done a decent job of preventing its opponent from getting second chances in front of Connor Hellebuyck. Connor McDavid has the Canadians’ only goal, and he got it by flying into the zone off the rush. They might need to try more of that in the third period because Team USA’s in-zone structure has been solid.
The Americans have made the most of their chances with Jake Guentzel converting off the rush in the first period, but they can’t be content to sit on their heels against a Canadian team that boasts all kinds of offensive skill.
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